1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for processing data using object-oriented languages having a concept of a class, an instance, and a method invoke by a message transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
Object oriented programming is currently a popular technique because of its high productivity and ease of reusing parts. In order to further improve the ease of reusing parts, a computer system capable of supporting an object oriented language requires the capability of using in a particular object oriented language an object from any object oriented language, regardless of the internal structure of an object.
Various object oriented languages have been developed, including the C++ languages with object oriented lingual functions attached to the C language, the CLOS with object oriented lingual functions attached to the LISP language, and the Smalltalk developed by the Xerox Corporation of the United States. Although many object oriented languages support varying programming styles and they share a few basic concepts related to object oriented programs, their actual internal data structures are totally different.
Therefore, it has been impossible to use in one language an object written in another language by exchanging messages between objects written in different object oriented languages. Such a use entails a reformatting of the lingual system after analyzing the internal structure of an object, and thus has been extremely difficult.
A feature of an object oriented language is the ease of turning data and procedures into parts by shielding information of various objects. If it is easy to use an object written in one object oriented language in another object oriented language, a use, in various languages, of program parts written in one language further improves a productivity of program development.